reference book
Look things up
A reference book is a text designed for consulting rather than reading cover to cover.
Encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and almanacs are reference books—you look up what you need and close them.
Libraries often keep reference books in a separate section where they cannot be checked out: The librarian directed me to the reference books.
Comprehensive subject-matter collection
- dictionaryAlphabetical word reference
- thesaurusSynonym and antonym compendium
- atlasBound collection of charts
- almanacYearly data compilation
handbook · manual · guidebook · directory · gazetteer · lexicon · glossary · compendium
List of cited works
- citationMention of a source
- footnotesMarginal citations below text
- indexAlphabetical guide to contents
- databaseOrganized digital information collection
archive · sources · documentation · peer-reviewed · journal · scholarship · methodology · evidence
Academic subject manual
- curriculumEducational program's content plan
- syllabusCourse plan document
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
- dissertationExtended academic treatise
monograph · university · college · professor · lecture · seminar · coursework · study
Amounts or books
- entriesItems logged or submitted
- articlesWritten works or items
- indexAlphabetical guide to contents
- appendixSupplementary section after main text
illustrations · summaries · overviews · editions · multivolume · chapters · sections · tables
Vertical arrangements of items
- shelvesHorizontal storage platforms
- catalogueSystematic list of items
- librarianCollection manager at reading hall
- lendingTemporary provision of resources
reading room · periodicals · collection · borrowing · nonfiction · call number · quiet · study
encyclopedia
Comprehensive subject-matter collection
- dictionaryAlphabetical word reference
- thesaurusSynonym and antonym compendium
- atlasBound collection of charts
almanac · handbook · manual · guidebook · directory · gazetteer · lexicon · glossary · compendium · yearbook
bibliography
List of cited works
- citationMention of a source
- footnotesMarginal citations below text
- indexAlphabetical guide to contents
database · archive · sources · documentation · peer-reviewed · journal · scholarship · methodology · evidence · data
textbook
Academic subject manual
- curriculumEducational program's content plan
- syllabusCourse plan document
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
dissertation · monograph · university · college · professor · lecture · seminar · coursework · study · education
volumes
Amounts or books
appendix · illustrations · summaries · overviews · editions · multivolume · chapters · sections · tables · diagrams
stacks
Vertical arrangements of items
- shelvesHorizontal storage platforms
- catalogueSystematic list of items
- librarianCollection manager at reading hall
lending · reading room · periodicals · collection · borrowing · nonfiction · call number · quiet · study · circulation desk
- World Referenceworld atlas, encyclopedia, world geography, world maps, world records
- booksnovel, textbooks, study guides, paperback, hardcover
- knowledgeknowledge, common knowledge, general knowledge, factual knowledge, prior knowledge
- librarylibrarian, books, library card, bookshelves, card catalog
- nonfictionbiography, autobiography, biographies, history, memoir
- written worksessay, novel, anthologies, history books, letter
reference booknovel
New and unusual
page-turner · fiction · storybook · beach read · potboiler
reference booknovel
New and unusual
creative writing · narrative prose · storytelling · belles-lettres · original composition
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